| A bedhead leech with gold rib works good for reservoir fishing during this time of year. |
The doldrums of summer fishing are here. Fishing action is generally slow and requires more ingenuity on the part of the angler. It’s important to fish at dawn or dusk, when fish feed more actively. This is especially true for shoreline anglers. During the summer, trout will spend most of the day in deep, cold water near the bottom of reservoirs. They can be enticed to bite, but you have to get the bait to the fish. This is a good time of year to fish from a boat, tube or pontoon.
Veteran fly fisherman, Tom Ogden, likes to use leech patterns this time of year in reservoirs. He uses a clear, round beadhead to simulate a bubble of air. Brown, olive, green, purple and red are good body colors. Using sinking line, and kicking from a tube, he keeps his leech about two feet off the bottom.
On creeks and streams, Tom uses beadhead Montana or prince nymphs. Depending on the hook size, these simulate a variety of aquatic insects, including stone and caddis flies. Tom suggests that the “old, tried and true”patterns, such as the renegade, hare’s ear and captain are good ones to try on a water with which you are unfamiliar.
ABAJO MOUNTAINS Try fishing near the inlet at Lloyd’s Lake, where anglers have had luck using salmon eggs, a prince nymph or Mepp’s spinner. Fishing success at Monticello Reservoir ranges from poor to good, depending on the day and time of day.
Worms continue to be a good bait. Fly fishermen should try to “match the hatch.” Despite problems with moss, Foy Reservoir continues to offer good fishing with artificial flies and baits. At Recapture Reservoir, anglers should try crawdad-imitating lures around submerged vegetation along the shoreline.
BENCHES RESERVOIR Rainbow trout are 10-12 inches long. Anglers have been using PowerBait, worms, or a fly and bubble. Fly fishermen might try a brown leech pattern.
BOULGER RESERVOIR Fishing success ranges widely with a variety of baits, lures and flies.
CLEVELAND RESERVOIR Fishing continues to be slow. Even Tom Ogden was only able to catch 5 trout in 3 hours with an artificial leech.
DUCK FORK RESERVOIR Fishing remains good for tiger trout up to 15 inches. Good fly patterns continue to include the renegade, mosquito, wooly bugger, leech and prince nymph. Special regulations apply. Artificial flies and lures only. Closed to the possession of cutthroat trout. Please release cutthroat trout immediately and with care. The tiger trout limit is 2 fish.
ELECTRIC LAKE Fishing success has been slow. Cutthroats range from 12-16 inches.
FAIRVIEW LAKES Fishing continues to be fair from shore with traditional baits.
FERRON RESERVOIR Fishing ranges from slow to fair. Brookies are the most frequently caught trout, ranging between 12 and 13 inches.
GRASSY LAKE Fishing success fluctuates from fair to good with baits, spinners and flies. Trout average 10-12 inches.
HUNTINGTON CREEK Fishing success is variable. Fly fishermen might consider a #14 beadhead ugly or #12 beadhead Montana in green and brown. Some have had luck with ant imitations. Conservation officer Stacey Jones said spin-casting anglers were “knocking them dead” on the right fork with small Mepp’s spinners. Stacey noticed faster action when bugs were at a minimum and anglers avoided the heat of the day. Nightcrawlers continue to be the best bait. Special regulations apply for the right and left hand forks. Please refer to the fishing proclamation.
HUNTINGTON NORTH STATE PARK Heavy boat and ski traffic make angling untenable, except during early morning hours, when a few bass anglers make an appearance. Special regulations apply. Please refer to the proclamation.
HUNTINGTON RESERVOIR (on the Wasatch Plateau, Sanpete County) Fishing has been slow. Early morning is the best time to fish. Popular baits have included nightcrawlers or dead minnows. Good lure choices are the Jake’s Spin-a-Lure or tan Rooster Tail. Good flies include a # 10-12 black beadhead leech with rib or a #8 beadhead Sheep Creek Special. Special regulations apply. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout or trout with cutthroat markings.
JOES VALLEY RESERVOIR Fishing success has been slow. Trolling or jigging dead chubs or chub meat in deep water seems to be the best strategy for larger splake. Special regulations apply. The limit is two trout, only one over 22 inches. All trout between 15-22 inches must be immediately released.
LAKE POWELL The Lake Powell fishing report home page is: www.wayneswords.com
LASAL MOUNTAINS Conservation officer Joe Nicholson reported good fishing at Blue Lake with worms or Panther Martin or Jake’s spinners for those throwing lures. Fishing pressure has been low. Nicholson described fishing as good at Oowah for trout ranging from 10-14 inches. Worms and marshmallows have been the best baits. Don’s and Hidden lakes have been slow with only a few trout being caught on worms or PowerBait. A few bass continue to be caught in the shallows at Ken’s Lake, where crawdad imitations have worked best. Anglers interested in catfish should try using squid or chicken livers on the Colorado River, where 1-3 lb. cats are being creeled.
LOWER FISH CREEK Access from U.S. Highway 6 is open, and there’s a good volume of water flowing in the creek. Try a #14 beadhead ugly, #10 Montana nymph or #10-12 leech imitation.
MILLER’S FLAT RESERVOIR Fishing has been slow to fair for 10-14 inch rainbow trout. Good baits include worms and PowerBait.
MILLSITE RESERVOIR Try fishing one of the higher elevation reservoirs until fall, when the water cools and recreational boat traffic dies down.
PETE’S HOLE Fishing continues to be fair to good with baits, flies or spinners.
POTTER’S PONDS Fishing success has been slow to fair for 8-10 inch rainbow trout.
SCOFIELD RESERVOIR Fishing success has been variable. This weekend, conditions improved somewhat. Creel survey technicians reported better success for both boats and shoreline anglers. Boaters have had luck, trolling pop gear and worms or triple teasers. Some did well, trolling spinners and crankbaits. Conservation Officer Mike Milburn remarked that still-fishing boaters did best in 20-25 feet of water. The catch was best when baits were kept off the bottom. Aquatics Biologist Justin Hart says the best bait to use at Scofield is a redside shiner, which can be caught with a casting net or trap. Justin notes that dead shiners can be still-fished on the bottom, under a bubble, or jigged through the water. One bait fisherman, John Brambila, emailed me saying he “killed ’em” Saturday and Sunday with lime glitter PowerBait in a bay coming off Bear Ridge.
SOUP BOWL Fishing continues to range from fair-good with artificial flies, baits and spinners.
WILLOW LAKE Fishing has been pretty good with a variety of baits, lures and fly patterns. Aquatics Biologist Justin Hart reported a 3 lb. tiger trout coming out of Willow. Tom Ogden reported tigers in the 16-inch size category.
WRIGLEY SPRINGS RESERVOIR Fishing has ranged from fair to good for tiger and rainbow trout.